Textile material and process for its production



June 11, 1935. w. l. TAYLOR 2,004,139

TEXTILE MATERIAL AND PROCESS FOR.ITS PRODUCTION Filed Nov. 6, 1931 FlGl- W\LLIAM I- ATTOH NEYS Patented June 11, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TEXTILE MATERIAL AND PROCESS FOR ITS PRODUCTION Application November 6, 1931, Serial No. 573,422 In Great Britain January 1, 1931 29 Claims.

This invention relates to the production of textile yarns or threads (hereafter referred to as threads) and in particular to threads consisting of or containing continuous filaments,

whether natural or artificial. The object of the invention is to produce threads of this character exhibiting novel characteristics and capable of useful application in the textile industry.

Threads of continuous filaments according to the invention are characterized in that they contain at intervals along their length portions which have been strained beyond the elastic limit. The portions intermediate these strained portions may be entirely free from strain, or some or all of them may also have been strained, but to a diiferent degree from the others. When the threads are subjected to shrinking, differential contraction occurs between the strained and unstrained, or the differently strained, portions of the threads, since the strained portions of the thread tend to revert to their original length.

The invention also includes within its scope methods of intermittently straining threads along their length. One such method which may be employed to produce intermittently strained threads consists of a pair of rollers round which the threads are caused to pass in turn, the second of such rollers rotating at a peripheral speed greater than the first. Such rollers would themselves stretch the threads in accordance with the difference in their peripheral speeds. Means are, however, provided to vary at predetermined intervals and to predetermined extents the length of the path followed by the threads between the rollers, so that during increase of such length the stretching action of the second of the rollers is localized on the thread, the roller operating to stretch the thread between the rollers, and during lessening of the length the second roller is principally occupied in taking up the excess length of thread available. The stretching force applied to the thread is, of course, within their breaking load.

A further roller or rollers having appropriately higher peripheral speeds may be arranged to follow the second roller, and further means for varying the path followed by the thread may be arranged between the further pair of rollers so provided. These further means may operate synchronously with the length varying means between the first pair of rollers, or may operate out of phase of such means so as to vary the incidence and amount of the strain falling upon the threads.

The path varying means may comprise a reciprocating, oscillating, or rotating member or members actuated at any desired regular or irregular rate of operation and serving to vary the path of the threads to any desired regular or irregular extent. For example, a bar may be reciprocated by a cam, eccentric, crank, or the like so that it engages a thread in its passage between a pair of rollers, the amplitude of movement of the bar determining the amount of strain imparted to the thread. Such device is convenient for the production of strained portions at fairly long intervals along the thread. For shorter intervals, say 2" apart, a rotating member may be used to deflect the thread from its direct path from roller to roller. This member may be rotated at high speed so as to engage the thread at frequent intervals.

The second roller of the pair takes up the slack produced by the deflection of the thread, and its speed is carefully adjusted to feed the thread steadily onward, allowance being made for any slippage that may take place round either of the rollers. To reduce the possibility of slip, the thread may be taken more than once round each roller.

The threads may receive an intermittent straining while they have little or no twist, or after they have been given a medium or high degree of twist. They may be used for the production of knitted, woven, or other fabrics or articles directly after production, that is while they retain their original twisted or untwisted condition. In woven fabrics, a streaky or mottled effect is produced, variations in the length and frequency of the strained portions, as well as in the degree of straining, enabling correspondingly varying effects to be obtained in the fabric. The threads may also be subjected after intermittent straining to any suitable twisting operation so as to receive a medium or high degree of twist, and highly twisted threads formed in this way may be used either as weft or warp or both in fabrics required to have crepe, cockled or similar effect, particularly if the intermittent straining takes place at relatively short intervals, such as $4; to inch. Further, the threads may be doubled, with any desired degree of twist, with other threads, which may also be intermittently strained.

The amount of contraction of the threads and the consequent effect produced may be modified by varying thedegree of twisting or doubling imparted to the threads, and/or by selection of the shrinking agency employed.

The invention is applicable to threads consisting of or containing all kinds of continuous natuml or artificial filaments. For example, the intermittent strain may be applied to threads of silk or of artificial filaments of cellulose derivatives, such as cellulose acetate, or other organic cellulose esters, or cellulose ethers, or to artificial filaments of the reconstituted cellulose type, such as viscose, nitrocellulose, or cuprammonium silk.

In the application of the invention to threads of artificial filaments, the intermittent strain may be imparted continuously with the production of the filaments. For example, the intermittent straining may be effected continuously with the production of threads of cellulose acetate or other organic derivatives of cellulose by the dry or evaporative method by causing the threads to pass in turn round stretching rollers of the type previously indicated, or through any other suitable apparatus, after emergence of the threads from the spinning cabinet. The threads may then be collected with or without twisting, e. g., the threads may be collected by means of a cap-spinning device. To obtain the greatest effect, the threads should contain little of the solvent used in the spinning solution at the time when they are strained, otherwise too great a permanent elongation may result. Similar methods may be employed for intermittently straining the threads, whether natural or artificial, or mixed threads containing two or more types of continuous filaments (e. g. cellulose acetate filaments mixed with viscose filaments) or one or more kinds of continuous filaments together with. other filaments or fibres, during bobbin-to-bobbin or other winding or twisting and winding operations. The continuous filaments in the threads may be of the same or different denier. I

Doubling may be employed to produce composite threads some or all of the component threads of which have been intermittently strained. The doubling may be efiected continuously with the intermittent straining operation or the composite threads may be produced in a separate doubling operation. For example, a composite artificial thread may be produced in a similar manner to the doubled thread of difierentially strained artificial filaments described in British Patent No. 370,040 filed 1st January, 1931. Thus, one or more component threads may be intermittently strained and joined by an unstrained thread or threads at the balloon guide of a cap-spinning device. The unstrained thread or threads may be drawn down from the jet or from a package by a feed roller rotating at the same peripheral speed as the last roller engaged by the intermittently strained thread or threads, or this last roller may serve as the feed roller for the unstrained thread or threads. The several threads entering into the composition of the doubled thread may be produced from a single jet, the filaments of which are divided in accordance with the number or filaments desired in each thread, or from two or more jets in the same or in separate spinning cells and having any required number of spinni g orifices to produce filaments of any desired enier. The threads may be, if desired, collected by simple winding, and afterwards doubled to any degree of twist.

It is to be understood that while the denier of the strained parts of the threads is reduced in accordance with the extent of the applied stretch, this reduction is of comparatively small amount, being limited by the amount of stretching the filaments will stand without breaking. The value of the threads is therefore derived principally from the presence of the strained or differently strained portions, and also from the power of the threads to contract diflerently at different points along their length onshrinking, rather than on any change in denier along the length of the threads.

Any suitable scouring or shrinking treatment may be employed to cause the strained parts of the threads to contract. If desired, the threads may be sized, for example, as described in U. S. applications S. Nos. 491,070 filed 24th October, 1930, 514,898 and 514,899 filed 10th February, 1931, and 535,287 filed 5th May, 1931, either during straining or as a separate operation, so that swelling of the size as described in these specifications enhances the contraction obtainable by shrinking. Likewise, in carrying out the shrinking, the scouring or swelling treatments described in U. S. applications S. Nos. 501,461 filed 10th December, 1930, 530,728 filed 16th April, 1931, and 527,358 filed 2nd April, 1931, may be resorted to, to effect a swelling of the materials of the threads to improve the contraction obtainable. Nitric acid may likewise be used to eifect the shrinkage of filaments of cellulose acetate or other organic derivatives of cellulose.

Two or more threads containing intermittently strained filaments may be doubled together to produce a composite thread after one or more of them have received a high or very high degree of twist, or one or more of the intermittently stretched threads, at least one of which has a high or very high twist may be doubled or simply bound together with one or more other threads of the same or difierent material of low or high twist. When the composite threads contain at least two high twist threads, each or any containing intermittently strained filaments, the high twisting may be in the same sense for all the threads or in opposite senses in different threads. For example two intermittently strained threads may be doubled together or doubled or bound with a low twist thread to produce a composite thread suitable for the production of crped or figured efiects in single box looms.

The accompanying drawings show diagrammatically several forms of apparatus for carrying out the invention, Fig. 1 being a side elevation of one form of apparatus, Fig. 2 a plan view of Fig. 1, Fig. 3 a form of spinning jet which may be used to produce two component threads simultaneously, and Fig. 4 a side elevation of another form of apparatus.

In Fig. 1, thread 5 is drawn from a spinning cell 6 by means of a feed roller 1 and passes to a further roller 8 and to a cap-spinning device 9, by means of which it is twisted and wound on to a bobbin l0. Between the rollers I, 8 the thread 5 is engaged by means of a vertical moving rod ll actuated by means of a cam l2 and spring l3. The rod I l operates to deflect the thread as shown by the dotted lines, so stretching the already set thread beyond its elastic limit, and the roller 8 moves at a speed greater than that of the roller 1 in order to take up slack produced by the stretching of the thread.

Such an intermittently stretched thread may be doubled with a similar thread or with an unstretched thread, Fig. 2 showing more clearly how this doubling may be effected. The thread M which is not to be stretched passes directly from the spinning cell 6 to the roller 8, which is long enough to receive both the thread 5 and the thread l4. After leaving the roller 8 the two threads are taken together to the cap-spinning device 9 and are thus doubled together while being wound on to the bobbin 10.

The two threads 5, 14 may be drawn from separate jets within the spinning cell 6. They may, however, be produced by a single jet l5, as shown in Fig. 3, having two groups of spinning orifices it, the two threads being formed from the two groups of orifices respectively. One of the threads 5, 14 may, however, be taken from a bobbin or other package instead of direct from a spinning jet.

In order to double together threads which are of different length, so as to produce a spiral or looped thread, it is convenient to reduce the part of the roller 8 which engages the intermittently stretched thread 5, so that this thread is not fed as fast to the doubling device as the unstretched thread It.

In Fig. 4 the thread I1 is taken from a bobbin 18 by means of a roller l9 round which it passes before proceeding to a second roller 20 moving at a higher peripheral speed than the roller l9. Between the rollers I9, 20 the thread is engaged by a pin 2| projecting from a crank 22. By the rotation of the crank the thread is deflected as shown in dotted lines, and thus is stretched to an extent depending upon the throw of the crank 22 and its speed. The intermittently stretched thread is wound on to a take-up bobbin 23. The thread may, if desired, be doubled with similar or other threads on any suitable machine.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:-

1. Continuous filament threads having at intervals along their length portions which have been strained beyond the elastic limit.

2. Continuous filament threads having portions which have been strained beyond the elastic limit alternating with unstrained portions.

3. Continuous filament threads having portions which have been strained beyond the elastic limit alternating with portions which have been strained beyond the elastic limit to a different extent.

4. Continuous filament threads of cellulose derivatives having at intervals along their length portions which have been strained beyond the elastic limit.

5. Continuous filament threads of cellulose acetate having at intervals along their length portions which have been strained beyond the elastic'limit.

6. Continuous filament threads of cellulose derivatives having portions which have been strained beyond the elastic limit alternating with unstrained portions.

'7. Continuous filament threads of cellulose acetate having portions which have been strained beyond the elastic limit alternating with unstrained portions.

8. Continuous filament threads of cellulose acetate having portions which have been strained beyond the elastic limit alternating with portions which have been strained beyond the elastic limit to a difi'erent extent.

9. Highly twisted continuous filament threads having at intervals along their length portions which have been strained beyond the elastic limit.

10. Highly twisted continuous filament threads of cellulose derivatives having at intervals along their length portions which have been strained beyond the elastic limit.

11. Highly twisted continuous filament threads of cellulose acetate having at intervals along their length portions which have been strained beyond the elastic limit.

12. Continuous filament threads of cellulose acetate containing at least one twisted component thread, having at intervals along its length portions which have been strained beyond the elastic limit.

13. Process for the treatment of continuous filament threads of cellulose derivatives, comprising stretching the threads beyond the elastic limit at intervals along their length.

14. Process for the treatment of continuous filament threads of cellulose acetate, comprising stretching the threads beyond the elastic limit at intervals along their length.

15. Process for the production of continuous filament threads of cellulose derivatives, comprising extruding a cellulose derivative solution through a plurality of orifices into a setting medium and continuously with the formation of the continuous filament threads but after setting thereof stretching the threads at intervals along their length beyond the elastic limit.

16. Process for the production of continuous filament threads of cellulose acetate, comprising extruding a cellulose acetate solution through a plurality of orifices into a setting medium and continuously with the formation of the continuous filament threads but after setting thereof stretching the threads at intervals along their length beyond the elastic limit.

17. Process for the treatment of continuous filament threads, comprising stretching threads of cellulose acetate beyond their elastic limit and localizing the applied stretch to intervals along the length of the threads by intermittently lengthening and shortening the portion of the threads being stretched.

18. Continuous filament threads of cellulose derivatives having differential shrinking properties along their length.

19. Continuous filament threads of cellulose acetate having difierential shrinking properties along their length.

20. Fabric containing continuous filament threads of cellulose'derivatives having at intervals along their length portions which have been strained beyond the elastic limit.

21. Fabric containing continuous filament threads of cellulose acetate having at intervals along their length portions which have been strained beyond the elastic limit.

22. A shrunk fabric containing continuous filament threads of cellulose derivatives, having at intervals along their length portions which have been strained beyond the elastic limit.

23. A shrunk fabric containing continuous filament threads of cellulose acetate having at intervals along their length portions which have been strained beyond the elastic limit.

24. Process for the treatment of continuous filament threads comprising stretching threads beyond the elastic limit at intervals along their length.

25. Process for the production of filamentary threads, comprising stretching a continuous filament thread beyond the elastic limit at intervals along its length, and doubling said thread with an unstretched thread.

26. Process for the production of filamentary threads, said process comprising as a continuous operation extruding a cellulose acetate solution through a plurality of orifices into a setting medium, forming two threads from the solution so extruded, stretching one of said threads beyond the elastic limit. at intervals along its length, and doubling said stretched thread with the other thread.

27. A composite thread comprising two continuous filament threadsdoubled together, one of said threads havingportions along its length which are strained beyond the elastic limit.

28. A crepe thread comprising two continuous filament threads of cellulose acetate one of said in threads having portions of its length which are 

